Ten years after the editio princeps of the Derveni papyrus published in this series (Kouremenos / Parássoglou / Tsantsanoglou, STCPF 13), a study has been put out regarding the first columns of the papyrus, preserved in a rather fragmentary manner and still the subject of extensive discussion. This is a comprehensive analysis, from the context in which the papyrus was found to the production and use of the oldest surviving book of Western culture (5th–4th century BC).